Fearless and female

Mount Holyoke College’s Robin Blaetz discusses Joan of Arc through the ages on a BBC podcast

Joan of Arc’s life has captured the imagination of people throughout the ages.

A cultural chameleon, she has been seen as an Amazon and a martyr, and also a farmer, a peasant and a shepherd, said Robin Blaetz, Mount Holyoke College professor of film studies on a recent BBC podcast.

In film and in popular imagination, Joan of Arc has been cast as a heroine and a victim, a warrior and a witch, said Blaetz, who wrote her 2001 book “Visions of the Maid: Joan of Arc in American Film and Culture,” about the French saint. 

She discussed Joan of Arc on a recent BBC podcast with historians Juliet Barker, Xavier Helary and Daniel Hobbins and BBC host Bridget Kendall.

Listen to the podcast.